Nigerian’s number one music export, Burna Boy, has added another milestone to his remarkable career as his monster hit single, ‘Last Last’, has officially been certified platinum after selling over a million units in the United States. The hit single was certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).
Normally, Platinum certification in the US is achieved for sales in excess of 1 million equivalent units. “Last Last” marks the 31-year-old’s second RIAA platinum certification after “Ye” was certified platinum in January. He’s the first and only African artist to achieve the feat of two RIAA platinum certifications for solo singles.
Burna Boy’s global hit, “Last Last” is now certified Platinum by RIAA for over 1 million units sold in the USA.🇺🇸
Burna Boy becomes the first African artist with 2 solo songs certified Platinum in the USA.‼️🦍 pic.twitter.com/9lu0n3ZnrN
— benny. (@benny7gg) March 9, 2023
‘Last Last’ was one of the breakout songs on Burna Boy’s sixth album, Love, Damini, which was released in 2022. ‘Last Last’s catchy beat and melodious tunes instantly captured the attention of music lovers worldwide with massive airplays on radio and streaming platforms. The track’s popularity earned it a spot on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, where it peaked at number 44, cementing Burna Boy’s status as an international music icon.
Love, Damini, has surpassed 600 million Spotify streams and was co-executive produced by Diddy. It also features artists Ladysmith Black Mambazo, J Hus, Vict0ny, Popcaan, Blxst, Kehlani, Ed Sheeran, J Balvin, and DJ Khaled.
‘Last Last’, the lead song is a sample of Toni Braxton’s famous hit rack “He Wasn’t Man Enough.” It debuted on the Hot 100 chart shortly after release and quickly climbed the chart to No. 44, ‘Last Last’ it peaked and No. 1 on the U.S. Afrobeats Songs chart.
With his current trajectory, Burna is set to grab another RIAA certification before the end of the year as his “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever” single “Alone” continues to chart favorably in the US.
Other Afrobeats stars with one RIAA certification includes, Wizkid (Essence), Rema (Calm Down) and Davido (Fall) respectively.
Since its release last May, “Last Last” has exploded into a global anthem with over half a billion streams worldwide. Since its release, the Afrobeats superstar has been touring the globe alongside his band, The Outsiders. A few weeks ago, Burna Boy, Tems and Rema cemented their global satus with a thrilling performance at the 2023 NBA All-Star Game half-time show.
Artiste Bio: Burner Boy
Damini Ebunoluwa Ogulu, aka Burner Boy, born July 2nd 1991, is a Nigerian singer, songwriter and record producer who rose to stardom in 2012 after releasing “Like to Party”, the lead single from his debut studio album L.I.F.E (2013). In 2017, Burna Boy signed with Bad Habit/Atlantic Records in the United States and Warner Music Group internationally. His third studio album Outside (2018) marked his major-label debut.
Other notable Burner Boy’s awards includes: 2019 BET Awards Best International Act , 2019Apple Music Up Next artist that year. His fourth studio album, titled African Giant, was released in July 2019. It won Album of the Year at the 2019 All Africa Music Awards and was nominated for Best World Music Album at the 62nd Annual Grammy Awards. He was awarded African Artist of the Year at the 2020 Ghana Music Awards. Burna Boy released his fifth studio album, Twice as Tall, in August 2020. It won Best World Music Album at the 63rd Annual Grammy Awards. He won Best International Act at the 2021 BET Awards.
Burna Boy’s sixth studio album, Love, Damini, was released in July 2022 and became the highest debut of an African album on the Billboard 200 chart. It also made history as the highest charted African album in the Netherlands, United Kingdom and France. In October, Burna Boy was awarded the Member of the Order of the Federal Republic, MON, for his achievements in music. In 2023, Rolling Stone ranked him number 197 on its list of the 200 greatest singers of all time.
Burner Boy’s mother, Bose Ogulu worked as a language translator and his father, Samuel, managed a welding company. One unique aspect of Burner Boy’s story is that of the lineage to Benson Idonije, his maternal grandfather. Benson Idonije was renowned for his managerial success with Fela Kuti, the late Nigerian Afrobeat legend. He studied Media Technology at the University of Sussex from 2008 to 2009, and also studied Media Communications and Culture at Oxford Brookes University from 2009 to 2010., Burna Boy returned to Port Harcourt, Southern Nigeria and took up a year-long internship at Rhythm 93.7 FM. He launched his music career after returning to Lagos.
